Saturday, October 17, 2009

Healthcare nonsense

"Sen. Tom Harkin, leader of the powerful Senate Health Committee, said Friday that vast differences in Medicare costs - - as exist between the high-cost Miami and lower-cost areas - - must be ended to make for sensible healthcare reform. "These huge disparities can't continue,'' the Iowa Democrat said in a teleconference sponsored by the consumer group Families USA. Dartmouth studies have shown that the average Miami [Florida] senior costs almost two-and-a-half times what a senior in Minneapolis does. . . . He noted that Iowa has always ranked near the top in quality of care measures while ranking 48th of 50 in Medicare costs."

Homes are more expensive in Miami than Iowa. Gas is more expensive in Miami than Iowa. Dinner out is more expensive in Miami than Iowa. Healthcare is also more expensive in Miami than Iowa, because everything is more expensive in Miami than Iowa.

There are many obvious reasons for this. It is frightening to think that a powerful U.S. Senator doesn't understand the reality of regional cost differences.

About Me

Lifelong Democrat; Former president, Broward County, Florida Young Democrats; Former member, Broward County, Florida Democratic Executive Committee; Former city commissioner, City of Cooper City, Florida; Graduate, The University of Florida; Practicing attorney, Miami, Florida; Member, The Florida Bar; Member, North American Snowsports Journalists Association; Broward County Young Democrats' Trailblazer of the Year, 1994; Broward County Young Democrats' Young Democrat of the Year, 1996.